Saturday, October 23, 2010

Keep Moving Forward

Good Evening to All! For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

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Maybe I have a strange way of thinking about things but as I was reading the devotional, I kept coming back to one thought. "One step forward, two steps back." From my perspective, if we become complacent in our walk with God. Be it from "being comfortable" or out of fear of what He might ask of us, we are taking two steps back. The reason I say this is because if we aren't growing in God, then we are moving backward. It starts out easy. First we get lax in our worship, we don't sing, we might not even pray. We sit on a pew and think about what's going on in our homes, our jobs and so on. Then we start missing. We say I'm so tired, it won't hurt to miss one service. Then another and another. The more we do this the further away from God we get, and this is what Satan is waiting for. Now's His chance. We can't let Satan get the upper hand. We must stay vigilant in our walk with God and keep moving forward.God tells us He wants us to grow. He wants us to become closer to Him. We cannot do that by standing still. Not only that, but if we are in fear of what He has in store for us then that shows a lack of faith. We must know in our hearts and show Him that our faith in Him is absolute. To do that, we must keep moving forward.

If we notice ourselves becoming comfortable, (which I have at times) we must do something out of the ordinary. Step out of our "comfort zones. Do something we would not normally do. Whether it is going to the altar during altar call (if we don't normally do it), witness to someone, actually take part in singing the hymns of praise even if we don't feel like we can carry a tune in a bucket, just do something special for God. He says make a joyful noise. You don't have to sing like a songbird. Talk to the visitors that come in. Whatever is abnormal to your routine. God likes that. It shows sacrifice. Not only that, you will notice a special feeling it will stir the "gift" inside you. It will get the Holy Spirit moving within you.

The more you do that the closer to God you will feel and the less "fear" you will have. Paul talks to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6 about stirring up the gift and the fire for God within himself. Because we need to keep pressing on. we need to keep "our momentum" if you will. We have a job to do as Christians and that is to spread God's Word to others, and to let God's light shine through us. We must let the world see God when they look at us not we ourselves. This is our purpose here on earth. The Bible says we were put here for God's pleasure, to worship him and to make His Word known to the four corners of the earth. That is paraphrasing it, but we are Christ's disciples and we are to do just like they did back in Biblical times and not be shy.

I'm not saying be forceful, but I am saying talk about His Word every chance we get. I started out just ever once in a while when I was talking to a friend or acquaintance, somehow a Bible verse would come to mind working within the conversation we were having. I know that was God's work because at that time I didn't think in terms of quoting Bible verses. Now, I don't miss a chance to work a verse into our conversation, which leads to a complete discussion about a specific subject in the Biblical perspective. It is so neat to see how God works it all out. Now, I never dreamed I would be able to do this 12 years ago. I was not shy, but I felt like I didn't know enough about Him and His Word, and I was afraid I would end up looking stupid. I didn't realize that if I would pray and ask God to help me that He would provide the words for me, He would prepare the person's heart that He sent to me for this purpose.

It has been an awesome journey. Now I'm working on giving Home Bible Studies. I've only given one short one, but I know when the time is right, God will send me someone hungry for the word. I now have the courage to tell them if I don't know the answer to their question, I will look it up or will find someone who does know the answer.

It will become a normal thing to grow. Each time you step out of your comfort zone, you will elevate the level of closeness to God. The more you do it, the more you will want to do it, so each time you will step further and further out of your comfort zone and that's a good thing.

4 comments:

Wow, and this is my favorite verse.I see it as such reassurance. God loves me so much that he has given me, yeah me, a SOUND mind. No matter how much I feel that it is not right....in God it is sound. What comfort.

You are so right, PJ. We can't get complacent in our walk. And complacency is a subtle thing. It can creep up on us with out us noticing. That is why it is so important to stay connected with other believers who encourage us and hold us accountable. I LOVE your new blog ribbon, by the way! It looks beautiful!!

Thanks for your blog posting... it is so needed in today's time. With the economy failing, so many job layoffs and such an uncertain future many of God's people are confronted by fear on a daily basis.

But you hit the nail on the head, we are to use the fearful times of our life as an opportunity for spiritual growth and closer intimacy with the Lord.

Also, thank you for your recent comment on my blog... I find I get so busy in my life that I don't really appreciate the great sacrifice Christ made for me as I should. It is so refreshing to hear that you are so touched by all Christ has done for you.

Believe, me it shows in your blog ministry. Anyone can tell that you love your Lord and out of a thankful heart you are diligent in your study and teaching of His Word. You are an encouragement to all of your readers.

Yes, I have heard “Can He Still Feel the Nails”, it is a very touching and beautiful song. May the Lord continue to bless you and your husband.

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